Iqama Residence Visa in Saudi Arabia

Iqama Residence Visa and the Saudi Portals

The processes following company incorporation in Saudi Arabia will be for the entity to obtain Iqama residence visas for its employees and begin the onboarding process. There are several different government portals that companies in Saudi Arabia will need to become familiar with and register the business and/or its employees to fulfil Labour Law, Immigration, and employee management requirements.

Iqama Residence Visa and the Saudi Portals

What is Iqama in Saudi Arabia?

Iqama is a Saudi Arabia residence visa that allows foreign residents to live and work in the Kingdom. It is a requirement as per Saudi Arabia’s labour law and immigration policy for all foreign workers to obtain Iqama.

To be able to obtain an Iqama, an individual must receive sponsorship from their employer. The employer in Saudi Arabia is responsible for obtaining all their employee's work permits and Iqama visas.

The process of obtaining a residence visa (Iqama) in Saudi Arabia

The first stage of applying for an employee residence visa otherwise referred to as Iqama in Saudi Arabia, is for the company to register with Qiwa. Qiwa is a portal that oversees the expatriate workforce, expat labour quota and change of employee sponsorship in the Kingdom.

When looking to hire an expat employee from abroad, the company must begin the process of applying for an import visa. It is important to note that the employee applicant must be applying for their Saudi visa from their resident or home country. For example, a person residing in country ‘X’, will not be able to visit the KSA embassy of country ‘Y’ to submit their application unless the applicant is a resident or citizen of that country. It is therefore required for the applicant to visit the Saudi Arabian embassy in their country of origin to submit the application form, medical examination report, biometric, and other required documents.

The application to the embassy will include submitting the designation letter and applicant's degree (if required) for visa standing to authenticate the work contract. This step secures the new employees' work permit which then allows them permission to travel to Saudi Arabia to complete the process to obtain the Iqama within 90 days from the date of entry to the Saudi territory.

Once in the country, the employee will complete the on-ground medical examination. The results of this test will determine if the applicant is permitted to move on to the next stage to obtain the Iqama.

Employee Medical Insurance

It is a requirement for the employer to obtain medical insurance on the employee’s behalf. The medical insurance will be applied for at a local level by an accredited broker who is approved by the health authority.

Important Portals for Saudi Employees and Employers

There are a number of important portals for employers and employees in Saudi Arabia to become familiar with and register with. Below are some of the notable portals and the purpose they serve.

1. GOSI

General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) is essentially a social insurance scheme, a portal for employer payments and paying benefits to insured individuals. All employees are added to the company's GOSI account.

GOSI contributions are based on a percentage of the employee's basic salary and housing allowance. GOSI contributions are mandatory and can be calculated as follows:

For Saudi Nationals Contributions

Employer -

Unemployment contribution = 0.75%

Retirement = 9%

Compensation and Disability = 2%

Employee -

Unemployment contribution = 0.75%

Retirement = 9%

For expat employees, employers are required to pay 2% to the GOSI contribution and the employee is not required to make any contribution.

2. Absher

Absher is an electronic platform for residents, citizens and visitors to use a variety of government services and identity authentication.

3. Muqeem

Muqeem is a semi-government portal that is linked with the company and its employees' immigration files. Every company in Saudi Arabia is required to use this portal. Muqeem is used to reflect an employee's change of status, printing of employee documents and ID and submissions for entry, exit and final exit visas for employees.

For example, for an employee to travel outside of the country for work, annual leave, or other purposes, the company must submit a letter of permission for employees to leave the country via the Muqeem portal.

Setting up a personal bank account in Saudi Arabia

After obtaining an Iqama Residence Visa in Saudi Arabia, the employee will want to open a personal bank account. A personal bank account is important for a number of reasons but as part of the Saudi Arabia Labour Law, all employee's wages are processed through the wage protection system (WPS) which ensures the correct and timely payment of staff salaries.

Setting up a personal bank account in Saudi Arabia requires the following documents to be submitted as part of the process:

Iqama Residence Visa
Valid Labour Contract
Passport copy of the applicant
A national address (If in the case where a local bank account is required for securing a permanent address, a temporary address can be sufficient to complete the process)
Additional documents may be requested from the applicant

How to obtain dependent visas in Saudi Arabia

Employees can apply for their dependent visas in one of two ways:

Submit a request via the employee's personal Absher account – the applicant will receive a reference number, follow the online process and submit the required documentation via the portal.
Manually visit the import office with a letter from the sponsoring company, a copy of the employees’ degree, the labour contract and copies of the family member's documents. The family will also be required to visit the Saudi embassy in the dependent's country of origin.

There is a minimum salary requirement and employee designation requirement for an individual to be able to sponsor dependents.

How can Sovereign PPG help?

Sovereign PPG understand the process required for bringing employees into the Kingdom and the steps required to obtain the work permit in home country and then Iqama residence visa for your expatriate staff in the Kingdom. Onboarding the employee includes a number of steps and required labour portals to be set up and maintained to keep up-to-date records, information and documentation for each of your employees. Sovereign PPG can assist with this process from beginning to end including setting up all the relevant portal systems.

Sovereign PPG can assist you with business setup in Saudi Arabia, obtaining a Sagia/ Misa license, PRO support matter and company registration in Saudi Arabia. Get in touch with us on +971 (0)4 456 1761 for Dubai or +966 (0)50 759 8601 for Saudi Arabia, email us at ksa@sovereigngroup.com or complete the contact form below and we will be delighted to assist you.